Improvement in ice-machines



2 Sheets-#Sheet l. J. GAMGBE.

- Ice-Machine. No. 208,304. Patented sept. 24, 187s.

M m n e F 1 'gf n 2 sheets-#sheet 2. LGAMGBE.. l lI0e-B/.Iachime. N0.208,304. Faler-lied Sept. 24, 1878.

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- lnve nier UNrrnn Sain-tiras PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GAMGEE, OF CHELSEA, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN'ICE-IVIACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 208,304, datedSeptember 24, 1878 application tiled October 18, 1877.

clear, and exact description of the invention,

which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainstomake and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

The object of the iirst part of my invention is to manufacturetransparent block ice; and for the purpose I employ inverted molds,maintained full of water in a state of circulation. I use, incombination with such molds, an air or vacuum pump to remove gases fromthe water, and to produce a hermetic joint between the bottom edge ofthe mold and its bed or seat, and I further use, in combination withsuch molds, a iilter, through which the water, in its circulation, iscaused to flow, and by means of which impurities and the sedimentdeposited as the ice-crystals form are removed.

In carryingout this part of my invention, I take a mold or bell, Figure1, or other suitablyshaped vessel, the sides of which are jacketed,Figsl and 5, the space between the jacket and mold being divided intozigzag or other passages, through which an aqueous solution of glycerinereduced to a low temperature, or other freezing-liquid, is caused to ow.

. I place this bell-mouth downward upon a bed,

O C, Fig. 1, or seat, which may be faced with in dia-rubber or othersuitable elastic material. An aperture, c, Fig. 1, in the center of thesaid bed. or seat, communicates, by a pipe, with a pump, by means ofwhich water is forced into and through the mold. This pipe is providedwith a small cock, d, by means of which air is admitted to the partialvacuum, to allow the cover to be lifted off the block ot' ice after theice has been thawed from the mold, thus causing an induced current ofwater to rlow into and through the mold from the lter. From the top ofthe mold another pipe, e, Figs. 1 and 5, conducts the water into aiiltcr-tank,

which,'in its turn, communicates, by a pipe,

Thus a continuous circulader, however, to insure the continued currentof water through the 'open tube at the top, and with a view to preventthe early obstruction of this tube during the process of freezing,airspaces fff f, Figs. 1 and 5, are provided, to interfere with theconduction of cold by the sides of the tube. As the freezing progressesthe air. or vacuum pump before named, and which is connected at the topof the mold, re-

. moves gases from the water, and at the same time, by the vacuum orpartial vacuum it produces within the mold, it causes the edges of thesame to be kept by the atmospheric pressure tightly down upon their'bedor seat. The impurities in the water and sediment deposited as theice-crystals form are, as before stated, removed by the lter-tank.

This process of progressive filtration of water, by causing its constantcirculation through ice-molds or ice-boxes, insures the production ofice of absolute purity, and which has not been hitherto made by any ofthe many processes adopted. Y

Then the ice-block has been formed, the necessary parts aredisconnected, the mold lifted from its seat, and the block turned out.

Fig. 5 indicates the simplest forml of bell block mold, in which ice sixor eight inches thick may be readily made; but in order to economizeboth time and space, large molds, as drawn at Fig. 1, may be made with ahollow inverted core, through which the aqueous solution of glycerine orother freezing-liquid is made to pass, as well as through the outerjacket. By this means blocks two or three feet square are quickly andeconomically produced.

Special molds are used, as in Fig. 5, to lnakc blocks to iit into thehollow space of the large mold, and by inverting these smaller blocksvand pushing them into the center space union is effected by regelationor natural agglutination of the frozen surface.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my machine, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The process of producing pure and clear ice in icemachines, whichconsists in passing the water to be frozen continuously over and betweenthe refrigeratin g-surfaces and through a filter, substantially ashereinbefore described.

2. The process of inducing upward currents of water and deaerating` thesame, which consists in producing a partial vacuum above the Water to befrozen, thus preventing the accumulation of air-bubbles in theice-blocks, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an ice-niaking machine, of a bell-shaped mold,the water-indue4 tion pipe at the bottom, having air-inlet d, thewater-outlet pipe e at the top, leading to a filter, and Vfrom thencetoa force-pump, which supplies the water-induction pipe, saidwateroutlet e having connected with it at its highest pointa pipeleading to a vacuum-pump, all substantially as hereinbefore describedand set forth.

In testimony that I do claim the foregoing as my own I hereto affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GAMGEE.

Witnesses J No. T. PICKETT, JOSEPH J; STEWART.

